Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) and Eye Exercises

by Dr. Merrill J. Allen, Dr. Steven M. Beresford, Dr. Francis A. Young.

• What Really Causes Lazy Eye
• A Simple Test For Lazy Eye
• Debunking the Genetic Theory
• Therapy For Lazy Eye

WHAT REALLY CAUSES LAZY EYE

Amblyopia (lazy eye) is a condition where the brain suppresses the nerve impulses from one eye and makes the image faint or blurred. In most cases there’s nothing physically wrong with the lazy eye although it may turn inward or outward – giving rise to the condition known as strabismus (crossed eyes).

Major advances were made in the 19 th century regarding the eye’s anatomy but it was not until the 1930s that scientists discovered that vision is learned. This came as a big surprise because it was previously thought that vision was automatic, like breathing or digestion. Studies of child development showed this to be incorrect. Although we are born with basic visual reflexes, we must learn how to use our eyes. When a baby opens its eyes for the first time, they don’t automatically work together as a team and in fact, many babies are born with crossed eyes.

During the first few months of life, we learn how to operate the visual system. Our brains form the neural connections that make the eyes work together as a team and focus on the same object at the same time. This process depends on both eyes getting a similar amount of stimulation. If one of the eyes doesn’t get enough stimulation, the neural connections fail to form and the brain often suppresses the nerve impulses from that eye, causing it to become ‘lazy’.

A SIMPLE TEST FOR LAZY EYE

Amblyopia can be caused by putting the baby in a crib next to a wall or covering one eye with a blanket for long periods of time. This means that one eye sees a bright new world of moving shapes and colors, whereas the other eyes just sees the wall or the blanket. The result is a dominant eye that the brain uses for most of its seeing and a lazy eye that the brain ignores or suppresses. In most cases, there’s nothing physically wrong with the lazy eye.

If you have a lazy eye, your visual system is out of balance like a four cylinder automobile engine with only two cylinders firing properly. Such an automobile won’t go very fast and will consume lots of fuel. Likewise, people with a lazy eye often suffer from poor depth perception and eye coordination, and may have difficulty reading or comprehending what they read.

Most people with normal vision have a dominant eye, just like being left-handed or right-handed. This usually isn’t a problem as long as the dominant eye isn’t too dominant. It’s easy to test for amblyopia. Just look at a bright object, then cover one eye with your hand, then move your hand to cover the other eye.

Go back and forth from one eye to the other a few times. If the images from both eyes are about the same brightness and clarity, your visual system is in balance. However, if the image from one eye is significantly fainter or less clear than the other eye, you have a lazy eye.

DEBUNKING THE GENETIC THEORY

In minor cases of amblyopia, the brain learns how to coordinate the eyes but suppresses the lazy eye so the perceived image is out of focus or fainter than the image from the dominant eye. In cases where the visual system is severely out of balance, the brain hasn’t learned how to coordinate the eyes, which point in different directions. This condition is known as strabismus or crossed eyes.

Many traditional eye doctors, regard strabismus as a genetic defect. They have been taught that one of the extraocular muscles is defective and is attached to the wrong position on the eyeball, making the eye point in the wrong direction. Hence they treat strabismus by reattaching the ‘defective’ muscle to a new position that straightens the eyes. Unfortunately, strabismus surgery has a relatively low success rate of about 20% unless followed by eye exercises to help the eyes work together as team. In most cases, this is not done and the eyes remain straight for a few months then become crossed again and require even more surgery, often several additional operations.

According to the genetic theory, a single operation should leave the eyes permanently straightened. Obviously, if the cause is a genetic defect where the muscle is simply attached to the wrong position, a single operation should correct the problem. It is difficult to understand how eye doctors can support this theory when they know that several surgeries are often needed, unless they seek to profit from the extra surgeries.

Additional evidence that the genetic theory is wrong came from research where scientists made normal monkeys cross eyed by surgically reattaching an extraocular muscle to the wrong place. To their amazement, they found that it was impossible to produce a permanent state of strabismus and all the monkeys spontaneously straightened their eyes within a few weeks!

THERAPY FOR LAZY EYE

Amblyopia and strabismus can often be improved or cured simply by patching the dominant eye for extended periods of time in order to force the lazy eye to develop. A drug store eye patch is usually sufficient. Research has shown that the more time spent patching the dominant eye, the better the results. Many eye doctors recommend completely covering the dominant eye with opaque surgical tape for several days. If you wear glasses, the dominant eye can be blocked by covering the lens with masking tape, although an eye patch should also be used whenever possible.

Of course, merely bringing the lazy eye up to par doesn’t mean that the visual system will automatically come into balance. So – in addition to patching – we suggest exercising the eyes using the Power Vision Program to help them work together as a team.